Girls Who Code’s Policy Agenda pushes bill through state legislation
On April 17, 2019, Washington Governor Inslee signed the first bill with intention to close the gender gap in tech, based on Girls Who Code’s Policy Agenda concerning K-12 Computer Science Education Data
Washington state will officially track and publicly report participation data for K-12 computer science! On April 17, 2019 Governor Jay Inslee signed into law Girls Who Code conceived HB 1577 — the first step toward closing the gaps that persist in technology.
This bill (HB 1577) requires the state get a complete picture of their computer science classrooms, from who is taking them to who is teaching them, and what schools are even offering computer science courses. By requiring districts to report their participation data for all grades, we can identify if we are engaging girls in the early grades or if we aren’t engaging them at all. Reporting that data publicly will allow the public and legislators to better understand the overall impact of statewide policies and create more targeted interventions to create a more diverse, inclusive tech sector.
As access to computer science in K-12 schools has increased, we still remain unaware how our classrooms actually look because no participation data or information for those participating in these courses was being tracked. Data tracking is crucial in ensuring equity for all in computer science, and making this information accessible will allow for effective public policies that can be measured — and be determined if they are successful.
Girls Who Code wants every state to require districts to report what computer science courses are being taught, and more importantly, who is taking these courses. What gets measured gets managed, and you can’t change what you can’t see. Data drives innovation and it is only through data that we are able to identify gaps and create interventions to close them.
For more information on the bill’s passing, read our formal press release.
Learn more about what Girls Who Code’s four policy recommendations for lawmakers across the country committed. These recommendations are designed to close the gender gap in tech and specifically to attract and retain girls in K-12 in computer science.
